I Promised to Protect You
by winterune
Summary: "How long had you been there? Weeks? Months? Years? You'd lost count." What if MC is in the army and has been missing in action for many years? What if she's being kept prisoner in a high-level security prison in the middle of the ocean with no way out? "I miss you." And then a voice in the rain, soft and familiar. "Do you remember the promise I made you?"


A/N: based on a headcanon I found in tumblr where MC is in the army and went MIA. You can find the original headcanon here (sorry apparently I can't insert links here): imaginesmysticmessenger's tumblr - masterlist - RFA+V+Saeran react to finding out so suddenly that MC is in the army and went MIA for many years and suddenly show up a couple years after

 **Disclaimer: characters belong to Cheritz and the original idea belongs to imaginesmysticmessenger's tumblr. Permission granted by imaginesmysticmessenger to post the fic here.**

Feedback/review is much appreciated. Thanks for reading ^^

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You cracked open an eye. The first thing that came to mind was: it was still dark. You caught yourself. _Still_ —as if the last time you saw the sun had been mere hours ago. No—it was always dark. Every time you opened your eyes, it was always dark. Moonlight would sometimes seep through the small, barred window high above, but there was a thunderstorm raging outside now, rain and cloud obscuring any light that would enter the small cell they kept you in.

How long had you been there? Weeks? Months? Years? You'd lost count. After all the torture they had put you under, after everything they had done to extract any information from you, you had ceased to care. You couldn't even remember what had landed you here in this high-level security prison.

This was your world now. This tiny, dark cell. And somewhere in that cell, you smelled something—something that smelled like food. Probably your dinner. Or lunch. Or breakfast. Or probably nothing at all. Probably a whiff of a memory from a distant, happy time that didn't exist anymore.

When was the last time you ate? You didn't remember. They wouldn't feed you. Why would they?

But your stomach rumbled and you knew you had to eat something. Whatever you smelled had to be real. They _had_ to feed you. How else could they have kept you alive all this time?

You tried to move, but the chains around your ankles and wrists held fast, and your whole body ached, but still you dragged yourself against the wet floor—from rain or piss you didn't care—until your energies were spent and you dropped to the ground.

You could feel your heart thudding against your ribcage. You were surprised your heart was still strong enough to beat so fast when even your mind had decided to shut down. So you lay on that floor, seeing nothing, thinking nothing, only tired—so, so tired.

The food smell persisted. And in your lonely cell, with the sound of your slow panting breaths, your beating heart, and the rain and thunder and ocean hammering against the rocky cliffs filling your senses, your mind began to wonder—

To a distant time, to a happy place—

To a certain boy with shaggy red hair and goofy glasses—

Chatting away with your friends on the messenger app he built—

Watching musicals, drinking coffee. Smiles and laughter filling your days—

And he was there. Always there. And he would always make you laugh even when no one else understood his jokes.

And for once after a very long while, your chest tightened, your throat constricted, and tears you couldn't stop roll one by one out from the corner of your eyes.

 _I miss you_ , your heart whispered.

No one knew where you were. Your family and friends were probably beside themselves with worry. You wouldn't blame them if they had given up hope and thought you dead. You would probably die here anyway, or be kept prisoner your whole life. But Saeyoung—

The tears streamed down harder. There had been a time when you thought you couldn't live without him. There had been a time when you thought you would be together forever. But you were here and he was not and there was no way they would ever let you go.

But Saeyoung was the best hacker you knew. And you prayed to God he would not come searching for you.

Because the last thing you would want to happen was to see him dead because of you.

Thunder cracked the sky. And then you heard it. A sound in the rain. A soft sound. A voice. A familiar voice.

You shook your head. You must be hearing things. Being in this dark cell had probably finally taken its toll on you. There was no way—

A shadow appeared high above on the window. You looked up and—

"MC?" a whisper of a voice you had heard in your dreams.

You blinked once, twice. You couldn't see the person's face.

"MC!" The voice was louder, more persistent.

Lightning flashed again and in that brief moment, you saw his face.

"Saeyoung?" you whispered to the dark.

He was drenched and panting and you were struck for a moment that even years apart didn't dampen your ability to feel his emotions, even with the distance between you. You could feel a mixture of worry, concern, hurt, longing, and most of all relief. Relief that he had found you. Relief that you were alive.

You lifted your face, blinking away the tears from your eyes, and you could see his face clearer.

You couldn't believe it. This had to be a dream. It had to be—

"Hi, MC," he said and he smiled and the tightness in your chest threatened to choke you and you burst into tears.

"S—" You caught yourself. "Is that—is that you?"

"It's me," he said softly and you didn't know how you could've heard his voice among all the rain and thunder.

His voice. Oh how much you had missed his voice.

But even though you were happy to see him at long last, you couldn't shake the dread that he had found you, through whatever method he had used.

"What are you doing here?" you rasped. It had been so long since you used your voice other than for screaming.

But Saeyoung only looked, _really_ looked at you, at the time lightning lit the sky, the cell, and yourself.

Even through the rain, even with the hood and the goggle, you could see his face turn grim.

"How did you find me?" You would not speak his name, lest anyone overheard you.

Saeyoung tried to grin, but you could see that it was forced. "You know I'm the best hacker in the world, right?"

Which meant he might have hacked into this prison's server. Which meant they might have _let_ him in. Which meant they might know he was here.

He began working with the bars—pushing, pulling, testing. "I'm going to get you out of here."

"No." But your voice was too quiet. You cleared your throat. "S—stop."

He pretended not to hear.

"Seven, stop!" you said as loud as you could, using the codename he had used as an alias—707. "You have to leave! Please! Before they catch you—"

Your voice hitched. You couldn't imagine that possibility. You wouldn't.

He wasn't listening.

"Seven, _please!_ " You tried to get to him but your chains pulled you down. "Seven!"

His eyes snapped to yours and you could feel them burning. "What do you think I'm here for?" he snapped. "I spent two years working day and night to find you!" He hissed. You grinded your teeth. "I did not spend two years trying to find a way to get you out only to have you reject me when I'm this close to saving you!"

You were crying harder now. _Please, Seven, don't do this,_ you begged silently.

Saeyoung stopped testing the bars. He looked at you. "I'll get you out of here."

You were shaking your head. "No—Seven—" _Don't do this_.

His eyes burned into you. "I promise." And he disappeared.

" _Seven!_ "

You screamed his name over and over until your throat hurt and your voice failed. And when you voice disappeared, you could only cry.

 _Saeyoung, please! I can't watch you die in front of me_.

Every second that passed seemed like a lifetime. And once you stopped crying, your mind began to work.

Saeyoung would keep his word. He would save you.

But how?

There was no way he could save you. He could plant bombs around your cell and it would only leave scratches and black soot behind. He could raid the whole place only to be taken down himself. He could—

Your heart stumbled a beat.

No. He would not do that. He could not do that. They would never agree.

But seconds passed. Then minutes. And hours. And you could only wait in dread.

The rain had stopped and the clouds had cleared and when the first sign of sunlight appeared, you heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Footsteps that led to your cell. Your heart was beating loudly. The cell door opened and there stood one of the prisoner's officers, clad in all black.

With him were two more guards. He nodded at them and they entered your cell. They worked on your chains, keys clinking. Your chains were off. They grabbed your elbows. Your legs wobbled as you stood.

 _Saeyoung. Where is Saeyoung?_

But you would not speak. You would not think the worst. They were only taking you to the interrogation room for the thousandth time. They were not—

You saw him then, as you left the cells and entered the series of long white hallways. Steel doors lined the halls and in between were long windows. And there he was, in one of those rooms, cuffed and battered and on his knees before the Prisonmaster.

You struggled against the guards' grips before you could think.

 _No! Saeyoung!_

He looked up. You didn't realized you'd shouted his name.

His face was bloodied and bruised but when he saw you, when he saw you were out of your chains and walking, he smiled.

He tried to stand but the Prisonmaster kicked him to stay on the ground. He snarled something at the Prisonmaster, something she couldn't hear because these rooms were sound-proof. The Prisonmaster frowned and nodded at the window.

You watched him stand up and you shook off your guards, forcing your legs to run to the glass windows of the interrogation room. You screamed his name over and over and banged the window with your bare hands. His gait was painfully slow as he walked over to you. The guards were at your side again and they pinned your arms but you were still screeching and screaming for them to let him go.

The Prisonmaster only looked bored as he pushed a button that allowed you to speak to each other.

"MC." Saeyoung's voice was strong, putting a stop to your struggle. "Do you remember the promise I made you?" he asked.

"What?" Your heart was thudding fast. Something was wrong.

He smiled though you saw tears brimming in his eyes.

"I promised to protect you, didn't I?" he said. "I couldn't let them keep you here any longer." Even as tears rolled down his cheeks, he was smiling. The fight left you.

"Saeyoung, what are you saying?"

"I promised to protect you with my life."

You were shaking your head. "Saeyoung."

"I do not regret this."

" _Your jokes have limits, Saeyoung!_ " you screamed at the top of your lungs.

"I wish for your happiness."

"Sae—"

"I love you," was all he said before the intercom went off.

The guards began pulling you away.

"No—" You refused to accept this. "Saeyoung—"

This had to be a dream.

 _Don't do this!_

You'd wake up to a raging storm and a tiny cell.

 _I love you!_

None of this was real!

 _Saeyoung!_

You tried as hard as you could but they had a viper's grip on your arms. They would not let go. Saeyoung's eyes never left you as he watched the guards drag you away.

And then you looked back—

And saw him fall to his knees with tears streaming down his face.

And he still managed to smile and the sight devastated you so much that your voice broke.

They shoved you away at the main entrance—at the sun beating down and the seagulls screeching above and the waves crashing below—and you could do nothing as the heavy metal doors closed before you.

"Saeyoung." You called his name but it was no use. No one could hear. No one would hear. "Saeyoung!"

It was a scream. A plea.

 _Don't do this!_

To let him go.

 _Don't take him away!_

Because he was everything to you.

Your legs failed you and you dropped to the ground and your whole body shook as you broke down into tears.

Everything was over.

He had traded himself for you.

 **~ END ~**


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